The ellipsis point series just keeps rollin’ along! Today’s post demonstrates how to use ellipses at the beginning and end of quoted sentences. This post was preceded by “How to Use Ellipses, Part 1: Ellipses within and between Quoted Sentences” and “How to Use Ellipses, Part 2: Ellipses between Quoted Paragraphs.”
How to Use Ellipses at the Beginning of Quoted Sentences
General Rule: Ellipses should typically be avoided at the beginning of a quoted sentence.
The Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago) and The Associated Press Stylebook (AP) caution against using ellipses for an omission at the beginning of a quoted sentence.1 Instead, begin a truncated quoted sentence as you would any other quotation: Capitalize the first word if it is a proper noun or if the quotation stands alone as a complete sentence. Lowercase the first word of a truncated incomplete sentence that is integrated into the surrounding text.2
Original: At the conference, our CEO said, “Grab some coffee and settle in because this event will provide you with all of the information you need to prepare for the year ahead.”
Truncated with a Complete Sentence: At the conference, our CEO said, “This event will provide you with all of the information you need to prepare for the year ahead.”
Truncated with an Incomplete Sentence: At the conference, our CEO indicated that the event would “provide you with all of the information you need to prepare for the year ahead.”
Like Chicago and AP, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) discourages ellipsis usage at the beginning of a quoted sentence; however, APA accepts ellipses at the beginning if the omission could cause confusion.3 While I appreciate that the APA provides a bit of wiggle room on this issue, I suggest using this leeway sparingly; after all, you don’t want to create confusion while trying to prevent a misunderstanding!
The Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook doesn’t currently address ellipses at the beginning of a quoted sentence.
How to Use Ellipses at the End of Quoted Sentences
General Rule: With the exception of MLA, ellipses are discouraged at the end of a quoted sentence unless they are necessary for reader comprehension.
Most of our primary style guides agree that ellipses are usually unnecessary at the end of a quoted sentence. (But beware: there are exceptions, which are explained below.)
Original: The scientist said, “We made a major discovery in the field of astrophysics that will change our understanding of the universe and will be reported by news agencies around the world.”
Truncated with a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist said, “We made a major discovery in the field of astrophysics that will change our understanding of the universe” (Citation).
Truncated without a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist said, “We made a major discovery in the field of astrophysics that will change our understanding of the universe.”
However, APA recommends using three spaced ellipses at the end of an incomplete quoted sentence if the truncation should or could influence your readers’ understanding of the content.4 Similarly, Chicago endorses three spaced ellipses at the end of a “deliberately” incomplete quoted sentence.5 In both cases, a period should follow the parenthetical citation.
Truncated with a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist hinted, “We made a major discovery . . .” (Citation).
Truncated without a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist hinted, “We made a major discovery . . .”
Unlike Chicago and APA, MLA encourages the use of ellipses at the end of a truncated quotation (even if it stands as a grammatically correct sentence) to show that it is not a full representation of the original sentence. Use three spaced ellipses for a quotation with a parenthetical citation or a period followed by three spaced ellipses for a quotation without a parenthetical citation.6
Truncated with a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist said, “We made a major discovery in the field of astrophysics that will change our understanding of the universe . . .” (Citation).
Truncated without a Parenthetical Citation: The scientist said, “We made a major discovery in the field of astrophysics that will change our understanding of the universe. . . .”
What about AP, you ask? AP cautions against ellipses at the end of truncated quotations.7
Part 4 and Part 5 will round out this series with a discussion on ellipses in brackets and ellipses in dialogue.
References
1. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017), 13.52; The Associated Press Stylebook 2018 (New York: Associated Press, 2018), 324–25.
2. The Chicago Manual of Style, 13.19; The Associated Press Stylebook 2018, 328–29.
3. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2010), 173.
4. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 173.
5. The Chicago Manual of Style, 13.55.
6. MLA Handbook, 8th ed. (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2016), 82.
7. The Associated Press Stylebook 2018, 324–25.
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